Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Geospatial passives for dynamic vegetation monitoring around thermal power plants

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As point sources of pollution, thermal power plants (TPPs) emanate hazardous gaseous and particulate matter that are of significant detriment to surrounding biological landscapes. To provide support to ecological conservation and resource management in developing countries, this study aims to establish a cost effective and robust geospatial methodology for dynamic vegetation monitoring of local pollution zones around TPPs using passive satellite-based indicators. The extent and severity of hazardous bio-influence around four TPPs is identified and monitored for a period of 5 years, using vegetation indices (VIs). High correlations of vegetation health with distance from TPPs have also been identified, signifying the hazardous impact of TPP emissions to surrounding vegetation. Variations in behavior of zones of high pollutant concentration are observed both in space and time, as a response to local seasonal weather, nature of fuel used in TPP, and type and areal coverage of vegetation around the power plants. Winter and Monsoon seasons have been identified to create favorable conditions for sustaining high pollution concentration around TPPs, and hence, the extent of hazardous bio-influence zones in these seasons is maximum. Moreover, oil-based power plant is revealed to be associated with large radial zones of degraded vegetation around it and, therefore, poses greater ecological hazard than gas-powered TPPs. The average bio influence zone measured for the test sites has been found to be 1660 m that ranges from 1600 to 1730 m for different power plants, explaining variable behavior of the used fuel and surrounding vegetation conditions. In this way, the study stresses upon the importance of geospatial data and analytical frameworks in reliable and economical monitoring of environmental pollution associated with anthropogenic sources, using passive environmental indices derived from remote data.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from USGS Earth Explorer website: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/

References

  • Alseroury F (2017) Use of GIS to study the effect of air pollutants on the vegetation cover. Int J Biosci 11(6):1–8. https://doi.org/10.12692/ijb/11.6.1-8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arshad N, Imran S (2017) Assessment of arsenic, fluoride, bacteria, and other contaminants in drinking water sources for rural communities of Kasur and other districts in Punjab, Pakistan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24(3):2449–2463

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bodor Z, Bodor K, Keresztesi Á, Szép R (2020) Major air pollutants seasonal variation analysis and long-range transport of PM10 in an urban environment with specific climate condition in Transylvania (Romania). Environ Sci Pollut Res 27(30):38181–38199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09838-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bovensmann H, Buchwitz M, Burrows JP, Reuter M, Krings T, Gerilowski K, Erzinger J (2010) A remote sensing technique for global monitoring of power plant CO 2 emissions from space and related applications. Atmos Meas Tech 3(4):781–811

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Britton AJ, Hewison RL, Mitchell RJ, Riach D (2017) Pollution and climate change drive long-term change in Scottish wetland vegetation composition. Biol Conserv 210:72–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.04.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Çolak E, Chandra M, Sunar F (2019) The use of multi-temporal sentinel satellites in the analysis of land cover/land use changes caused by the nuclear power plant construction. ISPRS Arch 42(3/W8):491–495. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W8-491-2019

    Google Scholar 

  • Colbeck I, Nasir ZA, Ali Z (2010) The state of ambient air quality in Pakistan-a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 17(1):49–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-009-0217-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emberson LD, Ashmore MR, Murray F, Kuylenstierna JCI, Percy KE, Izuta T, Domingos M (2001) Impacts of air pollutants on vegetation in developing countries. Water Air Soil Pollut 130(1):107–118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fu X, Ma M, Jiang P, Quan Y (2017) Spatiotemporal vegetation dynamics and their influence factors at a large coal-fired power plant in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol 24(5):433–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gheorghe IF, Ion B (2011) The effects of air pollutants on vegetation and the role of vegetation in reducing atmospheric pollution. In: Khallaf MK (ed) The impact of air pollution on health, economy, environment and agricultural sources, pp 241–280. https://doi.org/10.5772/17660

  • Govindaraju M, Ganeshkumar RS, Muthukumaran VR, Visvanathan P (2012) Identification and evaluation of air-pollution-tolerant plants around lignite-based thermal power station for greenbelt development. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19(4):1210–1223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0637-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hariram M, Sahu R, Elumalai SP (2018) Impact assessment of atmospheric dust on foliage pigments and pollution resistances of plants grown nearby coal based thermal power plants. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 74(1):56–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-017-0446-1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huete AR (1988) A soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI). Remote Sens Environ 25(3):295–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Issakhov A, Omarova P, Issakhov A (2020) Numerical study of thermal influence to pollutant dispersion in the idealized urban street road. Air Qual Atmos Health 13(9):1045–1056

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Javed W, Wexler AS, Murtaza G, Ahmad HR, Basra SMA (2015) Spatial, temporal and size distribution of particulate matter and its chemical constituents in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Atmosfera 28(2):99–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0187-6236(15)30003-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshi N, Chauhan A, Joshi PC (2009) Impact of industrial air pollutants on some biochemical parameters and yield in wheat and mustard plants. Environmentalist 29(4):398–404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-009-9218-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karimi N, Ng KTW, Richter A, Williams J, Ibrahim H (2021) Thermal heterogeneity in the proximity of municipal solid waste landfills on forest and agricultural lands. J Environ Manag 287:112320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumari M, Sarma K (2017) Changing trends of land surface temperature in relation to land use/cover around thermal power plant in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Spat Inf Res 25(6):769–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-017-0142-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumari M, Sarma K, Sharma R (2019) Using Moran’s I and GIS to study the spatial pattern of land surface temperature in relation to land use/cover around a thermal power plant in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Remote Sens Appl: Soc Environ 15:100239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2019.100239

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood K, Batool A, Faizi F, Chaudhry MN, Ul-Haq Z, Rana AD, Tariq S (2017) Bio-thermal effects of open dumps on surroundings detected by remote sensing—influence of geographical conditions. Ecol Indic 82:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood K, Ul-Haq Z, Faizi F, Batool SA (2019a) A comparison of satellite-based indices for hazard assessment of MSW open dumps using spatial analysis. Waste Manag Res 37(3):219–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood K, Ul-Haq Z, Faizi F, Tariq S, Naeem MA, Rana AD (2019b) Monitoring open dumping of municipal waste in Gujranwala, Pakistan using a combination of satellite based bio-thermal indicators and GIS analysis. Ecol Indic 107:105613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105613

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood K, Raza SA, Fatima SY (2021) A study of thermal controls in rapidly developing city using remotely sensed satellite data: spatiotemporal perspective. Acta Geophys 69(1):365–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood K, Faizi F, Mushtaq F (2022) Satellite based bio-thermal impact insights into MSW open dumps: a pair-unified proximity scenario. Geomatics, Nat Hazards Risk 13(1):667–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maity S, Mondal I, Das B, Mondal AK, Bandyopadhyay J (2017) Pollution tolerance performance index for plant species using geospatial technology: evidence from Kolaghat Thermal Plant area, West Bengal, India. Spat Inf Res 25(1):57–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-016-0075-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad AK, Singh RP, Kafatos M (2006) Influence of coal based thermal power plants on aerosol optical properties in the Indo-Gangetic basin. Geophys Res Lett 33(5):5805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qaiser I, Grigoriadis T (2020) Measuring the ecological efficiency of thermal power plants: evidence from Pakistan. Asian Dev Rev 37(1):159–184. https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qi J, Chehbouni A, Huete AR, Kerr YH, Sorooshian S (1994) A modified soil adjusted vegetation index. Remote Sens Environ 48(2):119–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rashid H, Takemura J, Farooqi AM (2012) Investigation of subsurface contamination due to chromium from tannery effluent in Kasur district of Pakistan. J Environ Sci Eng A 1(8A):1007

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rashid MI, Benhelal E, Rafiq S (2020) Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from gas, oil, and coal power plants in Pakistan by carbon capture and storage (CCS): a review. Chem Eng Technol 43(11):2140–2148. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceat.201900297

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rehman SA, Cai Y, Siyal ZA, Mirjat NH, Fazal R, Kashif SUR (2019) Cleaner and sustainable energy production in Pakistan: lessons learnt from the Pak-times model. Energies 13(1):1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13010111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seyyednjad SM, Majdian K, Koochak K, Niknejad M (2011) Air pollution tolerance indices of some plants around industrial zone in south of Iran. Asian J Biol Sci 4(3):300–305

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shaheen A, Iqbal J, Hussain S (2019) Adaptive geospatial modeling of soil contamination by selected heavy metals in the industrial area of Sheikhupura, Pakistan. Int J Environ Sci Tech 16(8):4447–4464

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma R, Pradhan L, Kumari M, Bhattacharya P (2021a) Assessing urban heat islands and thermal comfort in Noida city using geospatial technology. Urban Clim 35:100751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma R, Pradhan L, Kumari M, Bhattacharya P (2021b) Comparative analysis of different vegetation indices of noida city using landsat data. In: Advances in Energy and Environment (pp. 209–221). Springer, Singapore

  • Singh J, Agrawal M, Narayan D (1994) Effect of power plant emissions on plant community structure. Ecotoxicology 3(2):110–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00143409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Somvanshi SS, Kumari M (2020) Comparative analysis of different vegetation indices with respect to atmospheric particulate pollution using sentinel data. Appl Comput Geosci 7:100032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song C, Wu L, Xie Y, He J, Chen X, Wang T, Lin Y, Jin T, Wang A, Liu Y, Dai Q, Liu B, Wang Y, Mao H (2017) Air pollution in China: status and spatiotemporal variations. Environ Pollut 227:334–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.04.075

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sughis M, Nawrot TS, Ihsan-ul-Haque S, Amjad A, Nemery B (2012) Blood pressure and particulate air pollution in schoolchildren of Lahore, Pakistan. BMC Public Health 12(1):378. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor MR, Rubin ES, Hounshell DA (2005) Control of SO2 emissions from power plants: a case of induced technological innovation in the U.S. Technol Forecast Soc Change 72:697–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2004.11.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomás-Alonso F (2005) A new perspective about recovering SO2 offgas in coal power plants: energy saving. Part III. Selection of the best methods. Energy Sources 27(11):1051–1060. https://doi.org/10.1080/00908310490479204

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker CJ (1979) Red and photographic infrared linear combinations for monitoring vegetation. Remote Sens Environ 8(2):127–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weng Q, Lu D, Schubring J (2004) Estimation of land surface temperature-vegetation abundance relationship for urban heat island studies. Remote Sens Environ 89(4):467–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2003.11.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan WY, Mahendrarajah P, Shaker A, Faisal K, Luong R, Al-Ahmad M (2014) Analysis of multi-temporal Landsat satellite images for monitoring land surface temperature of municipal solid waste disposal sites. Environ Mon Assess 186(12):8161–8173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zha Y, Gao J, Ni S (2003) Use of normalized difference built-up index in automatically mapping urban areas from TM imagery. Int J Remote Sens 24(3):583–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Remote Sensing, GIS and Climate Research Lab (National Center of GIS and Space Applications), Center for Remote Sensing, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Pakistan

    Fiza Faizi, Khalid Mahmood & Iqra Basit

  2. Department of Space Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Pakistan

    Khalid Mahmood

Authors
  1. Fiza Faizi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Khalid Mahmood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Iqra Basit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The contribution of authors to this research work is as follows:

Dr. Khalid Mahmood: Conceptualization of study, supervision, reviewing and editing.

Fiza Faizi: Visualization, analysis, investigation and interpretation of results, draft preparation.

Iqra Basit: Data curation and management, data processing and writing of manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khalid Mahmood.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Faizi, F., Mahmood, K. & Basit, I. Geospatial passives for dynamic vegetation monitoring around thermal power plants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 82467–82480 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21581-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21581-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation